Oolong Tea Cookie

I am starting to like tea over coffee so I wanted to look for some cookie recipes that go well for an afternoon tea party.  This is a simple cookie that has the smooth taste of oolong.

Ingredients:
4 Tablespoon Butter
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Tablespoon Ground Oolong Tea
1 Cup Flour
Confectioner's sugar (to roll the dough)

Prep:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Get the cookie sheets ready (you'll need two)
3. In a large bowl, whip the butter and sugar until light and fluff.  Add the egg and vanilla. Stir in the oolong tea and flour until a very moist batter is made.
4. Get 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
5. Get a scoop of dough and roll in the sugar
6. Place on cookie sheet and make flat.
7. Bake for 8 minutes (golden brown on top)

Serve with some hot Oolong tea and enjoy

Top 5 100 Calories or Less Cocktail Recipes

Here are the Top 5 Cocktails that are all under 100 Calories!

1. Skinny Girl Sea Breeze

This contains 102 calories but we shall say it's 100 calories so you can brag about your 100 cal. drink. To make this low calorie cocktail, take Skinny Girl Vodka (1 ¾ ounces), cranberry juice (3 ounces), grapefruit juice (1 ounce) and slice of grapefruit. Fill the glass with ice and add vodka and cranberry. Stir a little and then pour the grapefruit juice. Embellish your cocktail with a slice of grapefruit.

2.  Pina Colada

With only 165 calories this will refresh summer. For this recipe, you will need rum with coconut flavor (1 ½ ounces), pineapple juice (3 ounces), water (4 ounces), and Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut Lite (1 tablespoon). Add ice cubes and stir.

3.  Raspberry Cocktail

A 115 calorie Raspberry Cocktail.  For this diet cocktail, you should have vodka (1 ½ ounces), Raspberry Passion Juice (8 ounces), ice (4-5 cubes) and of course raspberries as a garnish. Blend them and serve. (for an added twist, freeze the raspberries in the ice!)

4.  Skinny Iced Tea

At only 70 Calories, this is for those who love sweet tea!  Get some Sweet Tea Vodka (1 shot), lemonade without sugar, and wedge of lemon. Mix well and service with a wedge of lemon for garnishment.

5. Diet Screwdriver

This one has only 80 Calories and is a refreshing drink to have pool side. Take vodka (1 shot), orange juice (1 shot), 7-Up and mix.  Add a slice of Orange for decor.

Hawaiian Chicken

Pineapples and Chicken go together like chocolate and milk.  Here is a fantastic chicken dish that will bring you back to the sandy shores of Hawaii.

Ingredients:

8 chicken thighs

Fresh pineapple - sliced
 

Marinade:

2 large cloves of garlic – finely chopped

1 inch piece of fresh ginger – grated

¼ cup fresh basil - chopped

Juice of 1 orange

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon brown sugar

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

1 tablespoon dried curry

2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

 

Directions:

 

Combine all of the above ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl. Add the chicken thighs and refrigerate for at least one hour or up to over night.

 

Preheat Oven 350 degrees:

 

Remove the chicken from the marinade and place in a baking pan. Bake for 50 – 55 minutes or until the juices run clear and the skin is a nice golden color. Plate the chicken and serve with fresh pineapple.

How To Clean Your Mattress- Mattress Hack

It's almost Spring Cleaning season!  One area that most of us never think about cleaning is our mattress. If you think about it, the mattress harbors a lot of dirt, moisture and odor.  With this make at home cleaning solution, you too can have a fresh smelling mattress in no time!  While you are cleaning, make sure you put your bedding in the washer so everything is cleaned.

Here's what you will need:
1. Baking Soda
2. Mason Jar
3. Essential Lavender Oil (optional, but adds a nice touch and lavender also helps you fall asleep)
4. Kitchen Strainer
5. Vacuum cleaner with hose attachment

Direction:

In the mason jar, add 1 cup of baking soda with 4 drops of lavender oil.  Shake this up.
With a vacuum cleaner, suck up all the dust/dirt/debris from your mattress. While doing this, lift up your mattress and clean the box spring portion as well.
Using the strainer, pour your mixture and sift the mix all over your bed.
Allow it to sit for 1 hour
Then vacuum it back up!  Easy!

The baking soda draws in the moisture and also deodorizes while the lavender adds a touch of fresh scent.  And now your bed is ready for a nice restful ZZZZ.

PureLiving Purifying Cutting Board System Review

I wanted to share about a fantastic product that I just got from my folks for my birthday.  It's a PureLiving Purifying Cutting Board System .  In a nut shell these are cutting boards that you can use depending on what you are cutting (to keep it sanitary).  When you're done using it you wash it and put back into the holder which has these cool led lights that sanitize and kill bacteria!  I had a bunch of cutting boards and used them for whatever I was cutting.  With this I can use veggie board for that purpose and meat board for cutting meat.  The peace of mind with knowing that bacteria is not growing on the boards while it's not being used is just brilliant!  They are inexpensive considering that if you get a tummy ache from cross contamination, the doctor bill will be at least double! Click on this link to view it  PureLiving Purifying Cutting Board System

5 Easy Kids Recipes

 

Cooking with kids can be a challenge (and messy!).  However, it is important to get your kids involved in the kitchen so they become healthy eaters in the future.  Also, kids will eat what they created! Here are a few recipes that you can get your little one to help you make

Fruit Salad

Cutting fruit helps develop dexterity (use a butter knife or cookie cutters).  This simple fruit salad can include strawberries, bananas, grapes, oranges, apples and raspberries.  Add a little lemon juice to stop the fruit from browning up.  Also you can use watermelon and have the kids stamp out fun shapes.

Scrambled Eggs

This is a great way to teach your child about the safety and caution needed while working in the kitchen.  In a bowl, crack two eggs and season with seasoned salt and pepper.  I like to add some soy sauce in our eggs for a really great taste that kids love!

Potato Latkes

Get two potatoes and grate them, add with one egg and ¼ cup flour with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Heaat a little olive oil and drop a dollop of the mixture into the pan and flatten out with a spatula.  Fry them until they are golden brown.

Sandwiches

The younger a child starts eating “weird” food like hummus, the easier you will have in getting them to eat other healthy spreads.  For the sandwich a great fun project is to  make a PB&J sandwich on a longer dinner roll.  Stick some toothpick and add grapes to make it look like a whale.

Muffins

Baking muffins that are low in sugar and fat is a great alternative to cupcakes and cookies.  Many great muffin recipes can be found on Foodista.com

6 Ways To Treat Psoriasis At Home

                                 

                                                                             

Life with Psoriasis is a challenge and very uncomfortable. Here are 6 Home Remedies to treat/manage psoriasis

1. Studies have found that Fish Oil, Vitamin D, Milk Thistle and Evening Primrose oil help when outbreaks occur.  Make sure you check with your doctor before trying this to make sure it doesn't negatively impact whatever treatment you are on.

2. Buy a Humidifier.  Where ever you spend the most time (work/home) try and buy a humidifier to keep the air around you moist.  Moisture is key to keeping your skin from breaking out.

3. What Soap Do You Use? You want to make sure that the soap you use is not too strong.  Make sure you buy soap that is for sensitive skin and contains no dye or perfume as this may aggravate your skin.

4. Diet is Key.  What you eat can directly impact your psoriasis.  Try and cut out red meat and fatty foods from your diet.  Some foods that are listed as "functional foods" are soy, nuts, chocolate and cranberries

5. Psoriasis on Scalp.  A simple trick to do before showering is to massage some olive oil on your scalp.  This will help loosen plaques and add moisture.

6. IT ITCHES!  A luke warm bath with epsom salk, mineral oil, milk or olive oil can help out when you are itching.

Goji Berry & Pistachio Granola Bars

It's always nice to make your own snacks to take with you on a hike or when you go camping.  You get to customize it by adding everything you like.  Granola bars are perfect because they are packed with energy boosting fruits like the Goji Berry.

Ingredients:
2 cups oats (not the instant oatmeal kind)
¼ cup shelled salted pistachios, chopped
3 tbsp flax seeds
⅓ cup honey organic or agave nectar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp coconut oil
2½ tbsp almond butter
¼ cup dried Goji berries

Source: Foodista

Jägermeister Chicken Skewers with Blood Orange Aioli

I've been wanting to cook using liquor and I'm on a bit of a Blood Orange fix lately and saw this recipe and wanted to share it.  Click on the link to be taken to the source for the actual directions, but I always like to look at the ingredients first before deciding if it's a worthwhile venture!

Ingredients: 

8 lbs. chicken thighs

30 flour tortillas
1 cup sugar
½ cup salt
½ cup orange juice
2 cups hot water
2 cups cold water
½ cup mustard
½ cup molasses
½ cup Jägermeister
2 tb. parsley (leaves only)
2 tb. thyme, chopped
2 lemon, zest only
2 orange, zest only
6 garlic cloves
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tb. red pepper flakes
2 oz. roasted garlic
1 bottle kewpie mayo (34 oz. bottle)
2 tb. dijon mustard
2 tb. sriracha
2 blood orange, zest only
2 tb. blood orange juice

Source: Foodista

Organic Blood Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream

This is the most delicious thing ever!  I was looking for an orange creamsicle mixed drink recipe and came across this.  I need to make these because based on the ingredients it should be really good.  I can already taste the vanilla hint with the deep flavor of the blood orange.  This is perfect because I saw that they had organic blood oranges at the farmers market.

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

1/3 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Zest of 4 blood oranges

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Juice from 4 blood oranges

Directions at this link (the source): Foodista

Pomegranate Salt

This is actually a really cool way to infuse a lot of flavor into whatever dish you are making.  I have it with Pomegranate because who doesn't like these cloths staining suckers?!

Ingredients:

Kosher Salt

Pomegranate (seeds, juice, whatever you want)

Prep:

On a cookie sheet, shift out some kosher salt.  Drizzle pomegranate juice all over until salt is covered in it.  Then let it out to dry.  Once dried, place in a jar and you have yourself some Pomegranate Salt!  This works great with Blood Oranges as well!

Asian Meatballs

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1 lb ground beef

1.25 lbs ground turkey

1 cup panko (find in the oriental section of your market, it’s bread crumbs)

1 egg

2 egg whites

2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp ground ginger

3 tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

Sauce:

2/3 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup duck sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp ground ginger

hot pepper flakes to taste (if you want add a lil’ kick)

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 400

2. In a large bowl, mix together all the meatball ingredients. Form into balls about 1-1.5″ in diameter and place on a baking sheet lightly sprayed with nonstick spray.

3. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until meatballs are no longer pink on the inside.

4. Whisk together all the sauce ingredients until well blended. You can either drizzle sauce on each meatball or coat each meatball.

5. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onion.

Tasty, Healthy & Easy To Make Kale Chips

Have you every had one of those "green juice" that have kale in it? GROSS! I mean it's healthy for you, but seriously why did nature decide to grow kale? And who was the first person to look at a kale bush and think, "this might make for some good food".  Anyhow, these kale chips are actually really good because it doesn't taste like raw kale! Give them a try, you'd be surprised!

Ingredients:
1 Bunch of curly kale
1/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese (I grate my own)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh black pepper
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil

Prep:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (easier to clean)
3. Cut the washed kale into potato chip sized pieces and place in a large bowl
4. In a small bowl combine the cheese, pepper, salt and garlic
5. In another bowl mix the lemon juice with olive oil
6. Toss the lemon juice mixture in the large bowl with the kale, make sure its well coated.
7. Add the cheese mixture in and toss around so all the pieces are well coated.
8. Line up the kale on the baking sheet
9. Put in oven for 10-15min. Keep checking on them, the perfect ones are semi-brown.  Remove the ready ones as needed and leave the rest to be done.

Simple & Hearty Crock Pot Meatloaf

CROCKPOT MEATLOAF

Crockpots were made for the efficient person… or for lazy people like me who try and live a “set it and forget it” life!  This hearty meatloaf is great for a filling meal that no one will complain about.  For this you will need the following:

2 pound of ground meat (I use the low fat kind, you can use turkey if you’re into that)

2 eggs (beaten)

¾ cup milk (I used 2%, worked fine)

3 Slices of wholegrain bread (make into breadcrumbs- great to exert any frustration!)

½ cup chopped white onion (usually ½ an onion)

¼ cup green pepper

1/4 cup chopped green pepper (half of pepper)

¼ cup celery (1 large celery stick should do it)

½ cup ketchup

½ cup ketchup (you'll need this one to put on top once everything in the pot)

2 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

Prep.

1. Combine meat, eggs, milk, ketchup, vegetables, salt/pepper and bread crumbs

2. Place in crock pot and cover with remaining 1/2 cup ketchup

3. Cook on low heat for 8 hours

Easy Sacked Lunch Idea: Egg Salad Wrap

Eating out for lunch everyday can seriously burn a whole in you purse.  So let's talk about a simple delicious alternative that will make your cubical neighbors boring PB&J look lame. Ingrediants:
6 hard boiled eggs
1/2 red onion (chopped)
Handful of Italian parsley (chopped)
Handful of dill (chopped)
1 tablespoon of capers (chopped)
1 teaspoon of juice from the caper jar
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tablespoon of vinegar
A dash of olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Lettuce
Pickle
Tortilla (larger one if you want a larger wrap)

Prep:
1. In a bowl, mix eggs, onion, parsley, dill, capers, juice of caper, mustard, dash of olive oil, honey, salt, pepper and chili powder.  Mix it up but try not to make it look all pasty, you want some chunks of egg.

2. Place lettuce, pickle and egg salad on the (warmed) tortilla and wrap it up!

Chicken Caesar Sandwich (EASY DINNER)

This is a VERY easy and fast dinner that can be made in minutes!  I like dinners that taste awesome but take little time to make.  These also are great to make for a pot luck picnic.
Since it's a sandwich, feel free to add or subtract any ingredients you don't like. I despise tomatoes (but love pasta sauce and tomato soup...don't judge me) so I leave those out.

Ingredients:

Baguette
Romaine Lettuce
Red Onion
Caesar Dressing
Grilled Chicken (or a cheat- rotisserie chicken from the market) 

Prep:

Spread the Caesar dressing on the bread as you would with Mayo.  Shred the rotisserie chicken and layer that on top.  Add red onion and lettuce and you got yourself a delish sando that took you less then 10 minutes to make!  OR if you got time, grill some chicken that is rubbed with garlic powder, salt and pepper (this actually is the best way to do it, but if you're short on time the rotisserie chicken is the way to go). 

Diabetic Friendly Lemonade

I am not sure if you guys have caught on but I have a wide assortment of diets in my household! This lemonade is for my cousin who is diabetic.  She once told me that it wasn't so hard to enjoy regular food/drinks because there is always ingredients that could be swapped out.  So this one is for her :)

Ingredients:

6 Cups Water
6 Lemons- Juiced/Squeezed
7 Drops Liquid Stevia
Fresh Mint Leaves (more for garnish then taste, some may say it adds a lil' something to the drink)

Very easy, just mix everything together!  However, liquid stevia is very powerful so you might want to add like 4 drops first and then mix and taste and add more if needed.  This way you don't end up with SUPER SWEET WATER.

Paleo Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (better then some non-paleo)

Did you notice how this picture is larger then the other ones?! They are so good that they deserve a larger picture!  When people think Paleo cookies, I'm sure no one is expecting them to be good at all. As in 'only desperate people on a paleo diet would make such non-sense', well you are wrong because these cookies rock!  These are so chewy and take only 20 minutes to make so whip up a batch yourself!

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoon grass-fed butter, softened (it's at whole foods)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Prep:
1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Whisk egg, honey, butter and vanilla is a largerish bowl
3. In another bowl, put flour, coconut, baking soda and salt
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet (slowly, don't just plop in!)
5. Stir in the chocolate chips and help yourself to a handful to eat now.
6. Using a tablespoon, scoop up a nice size amount of the dough and put on parchment paper.  Make sure you leave some space between each cookie or else you'll end up with a nice sheet of 1 cookie.
7. Bake for 10- 12 minutes (however depending on your oven, at around 8min you should take out and put a toothpick in to test- if the toothpick comes out clear it's ready- if toothpick has crud on it, it means you need to chill and keep it in there a bit longer)
8. Let it sit for 10 minutes then put on wire rack to cool
9. Who are we kidding, why would we wait until it's cool! Cookies were meant to be devoured the second it comes out! Enjoy!

COMPLETE MEAL: Crock Pot Chicken Fajita with Cilantro Rice and Avocado Corn Salad

I LOVE COMPLETE MEALS!  I hate having to think of what sides to make with the main, so this recipe is an all in one meal that is easy to make.  I hate chopping up stuff because that usually takes the longest, but tis' tis.  I split this up into 3 portions, Chicken Fajita, Cilantro Rice and the Avocado Corn Salad.

Chicken Fajita (this will go in the crock pot)

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 Tablespoon oregano

1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoon chili powder

1 Tablespoon cumin

2 Teaspoon cayenne pepper (if you don't like spicy, I'd say don't add)

6-7 whole garlic cloves

4 bell peppers, sliced

2 medium onions, sliced

1/3 cup vegetable or chicken broth

2 limes (squeezed/juiced)

1 Teaspoon  salt

1 Teaspoon black pepper

corn tortillas

sour cream (if you're into that)

Prep:

1. In a bowl mix the oregano, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.

2. Add the chicken breasts into the slow cooker and toss the dry seasoning in to coat the chicken. Add in the garlic, peppers, onions and broth. Cook on low for 5 hours.

3.Remove the chicken and shred it with two forks. Then place the chicken back into the slow cooker to absorb even more flavor! Remove everything into a serving bowl and squeeze lime juice over top and toss.

Cilantro Rice 

Ingredients:

Vegetable Broth (instead of water)

Rice

Cilantro (chopped up)

1/2 lime (juiced/squeezed)

Prep:

Cook the rice with the vegetable broth instead of water.  When finished, add the cilantro and lime juice.  You can also add salt and pepper to taste (I didn't because I liked it how it was)

Avocado Corn Salad  

Ingredients: 

1 cucumber (remove seeds and dice up)

3 tomatoes (diced up)

2 avocado (diced up)

1 can of corn (drained)

cilantro

lime juice

salt and pepper

Prep:

Mix all the ingredients together and add lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.  

VEGAN Shamrock Shake

I've never tried McD's shamrock shake until recently when they started selling it, and it wasn't half bad!  This take on the shamrock shake allows anyone who has dietary restrictions to enjoy the shake that has a cultish following!  Add non-dairy ice cream with dairy free milk and peppermint extract.  You can use any type of milk (almond, soy or rice).

Ingredients:

3 cups non-dairy vanilla ice cream
1 1/2 cups milk of your choice
1 tsp peppermint extract
a few drops of green food coloring (you can always add more to get that baby green color)

Prep:

Plop all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth and creamy. Enjoy!

Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken Bowl (CROCK POT!)

Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken Crock Pot

This looks like an awesome recipe! I love chicken teriyaki bowls (except the ones from yoshinoya- yuck).  I split the recipe into easy to do tasks.  The only portion that will make it's way into the crock pot will be the "chicken portion".  

Chicken Portion 

4 1/2 lbs chicken breasts

1 bottle teriyaki sauce 

4 scallions- sliced (funny story about scallions- my younger brother once was asked to go buy 1 scallion at the store... he returned with just 1 sprig of scallion that the cashier charged him $0.02 for...he is now a doctor (just kidding)).

Rice Portion

3 cups of cooked rice

1/2 lime (juiced/squeezed- you will need the other half for the topping portion)

Olive Oil

salt & pepper (personal preference/taste as you go)

2 tbsp cilantro (chopped)

Topping Portion:

4 tomato (diced up)

1/4 cup bell pepper (diced up)

1/4 cup red onion (diced up)

1 garlic clove (chopped)

1/2 lime (juiced/squeezed)

1 small can pineapple chunks (drain the juice)

2 tbsp cilantro (chopped up)

salt & pepper (personal preference/taste as you go)

Prep.

Chicken Portion:

Put the chicken breast, teriyaki sauce and scallions in the crock pot and let cook on low for 4 hours. When finished, shred the chicken and put back in the crock pot and toss it around.

Rice Portion:

Make 3 cups of rice. When finished add, lime, drizzle of olive oil, cilantro and sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Toss and taste (if needed add more salt and pepper)

Topping Portion:

In a bowl, mix the tomato, bell pepper, red onion, lime, pineapple, cilantro, salt and pepper.  Add more salt and pepper if needed.

Now serve with the rice on the bottom, topped with the chicken and then the topping!  You will have A LOT of chicken so you can use the left over to put on top of tortilla chips or make into some soft taco filling!

Candy Sushi

CANDY+RICE KRISPY TREAT+FRUIT ROLL UP= CANDY SUSHI!

What a cute idea! I love Sushi and I love Candy!  Together at last!  Soon, there will be food trucks roaming the streets of L.A selling this (in my dreams at least).  These are really easy and fast to make. I like to make rice krispy treats as the "rice" and top it with Swedish Fish gummies and use green fruit roll ups as the seaweed.  It makes for a nice surprise treat in any picnic basket or lunch box.  You can also get really creative and cut Twinkies like in the picture above and put colorful pieces of the same Swedish Fish to make it look like a roll.  To present, you can buy some foil bento boxes to make it look authentic!  I like adding all the little touches to complete the look.  I'll post the link to the bento boxes (it's like a Japanese tupperware, that is used to carry boxed lunches).

EASY TO MAKE NO BAKE VEGAN THIN MINTS! OH YES!

Do you know what day should be a National Holiday? The day the local Girl Scouts set up their tables at the grocery store to hawk out their yummy cookies!  Like you, I too can eat a whole box while watching 'I Love Lucy'.  Now you don't need to wait until the adorable girls to start selling them.  This recipe is SO easy and requires only 4 ingredients!  Best of all, there is not baking involved so your fire alarm can take a break (just kidding).   The base of this cookie starts off with Ritz Crackers, which when I read this I was thinking it would taste salty (IT SO DOES NOT!).  Head on over to Foodista to view the entire recipe.

Ingredients Needed:
Ritz Cracker, Semi-Sweet Choco.Chip, Shortening (I didn't use it cause it freaks me out), Peppermint Extract (it's like vanilla extract...only mint! Sometimes I think I should be a comedian... or not).